Paris, Day 3: La Crypte de Notre Dame and Galleries Lafayette

I’m a little behind on blogging already–combatting with the WiFi has been a challenge–but it’s really been the only difficulty I’ve faced so far. As frustrating as it can be when I’m trying to blog or work, I have to keep calm and remind myself I’m in Paris, connected with the Internet or not.

Yesterday was the first day of classes at La Sorbonne. We started with an introduction to the course then went to tour La Crypte de Notre Dame, which is located underneath the cathedral. It turns out there are ruins of Lutèce, the ancient city center that would eventually grow and become Paris. There was a forum which served as a market, meeting place, and baths and the ampitheater, known as Les Arènes de Lutèce. The ruins in La Crypte, as well as of Lutèce in general, have been excavated since the mid-19th century and continue to be excavated today.

School building

School of Medicine at La Sorbonne

This building reminded me of my impending doom when I return to the United States for spring semester: senior thesis

The view of the Seine opposite Notre Dame, facing Place d’Italie

Yesterday was the first day of classes at La Sorbonne. We started with an introduction to the course then went to tour La Crypte de Notre Dame, which is located underneath the cathedral. It turns out there are ruins of Lutèce, the ancient city center that would eventually grow and become Paris. There was a forum which served as a market, meeting place, and baths and the ampitheater, known as Les Arènes de Lutèce. The ruins in La Crypte, as well as of Lutèce in general, have been excavated since the mid-19th century and continue to be excavated today.﻿

The street corner next to Notre Dame

Notre Dame and un bâteau mouches

The Coca Cola ad reads: “For every angry thought, there are 4 million thoughts of love.”

After class, we went to the Galleries Lafayette to check out the first day of les soldes. Kelly and I waited in a line to get into Longchamp–we found a cute bag with the Eiffel Tower on it, nearly bought it under the belief it was 40% off, then it turned out it was only available for full price at 85 €. Needless to say, it was a low point in the trip when quickly decided to leave Galleries Lafayette empty-handed, without our dream Paris souvenirs.

﻿

We will meet again, Longchamp…

AIFS hosted a nice welcome dinner for us back near Boulevard St. Michel at Vins et terroirs on Rue St. André des Arts. I got ravioli for an entrée, duck for the main course, and baba au rhum for dessert.

Jackie, Kelly and I finished the night at a café in Marais–it was great to see a different arrondissement of Paris and get used to navigating the métro in the city.